Kateete I Village

Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Girls and women walk long distances for water when safe water is very often right under their feet! Underground rivers, called aquifers, often contain a constant supply of safe water – but you have to get to it. No matter what machine or piece of equipment is used, all drilling is aiming for a borehole that reaches into an aquifer. If the aquifer has water - and after the well is developed - we are able to pull water to the surface utilizing a hand-pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around 5 gallons of water a minute through a hand-pump.

Rehabilitation Project

Rehabilitation is not just fixing a pump - it’s total community re-engagement.

There’s only one thing we can think of that might be worse than not having safe water: having safe water, and then losing if because a project fell into disrepair.

It’s estimated 50% of projects in Sub-Saharan Africa are no longer functional. A majority of these projects are dug wells and boreholes with hand pumps. Though a hand pump is low-tech, cost-effective and a great solution for providing safe water - it’s also among the most susceptible to failure.

When working in a region, The Water Project seeks to provide adequate water coverage for communities across the region. Inevitably, we find dug well and boreholes projects installed, and then abandoned by other organizations and government contracts. We believe there is great value in building on what already exists - what is already present in a community - even if what’s exists is not working. After all, this broken well represents a significant investment from the past and repairing it shows a community our investment in them.

Rehabilitation often proves to be a big challenge, as many wells have sit idle for years and there is typically little information about the specifics of the well. A borehole and dug well rehabilitation involves quite a bit of discovery. First, our teams work to discover as much as they can about the initial project. What materials were used? Was the borehole/hand-dug well properly constructed? What is the static water level and well yield? Are there any known sources of contamination? Many of these questions can only be answered by diving in, and doing “the work” which makes up a rehabilitation.

Once our teams have found the problem, they find the solution. Then, they reconstruct a concrete apron around the well, and install a hand pump.

Program engagement and training with communities takes into account rehabilitation was needed and alters the program to suit the needs of the community. After all - engaging with this community in the same way which led to the initial, failed project will not bring new results. Our teams work to understand the social and support reasons leading to initial failure, and make those areas a focus of our ongoing engagement with communities.

Project Features

Community Engagement

Community engagement is at every step of a water project.

Our engagement is rooted in relationship and includes involving the community in implementation and ongoing support, setting expectations for water point management and ongoing costs, etc. All of this happens before a water project is installed.

We use a term called ABCD: “Asset Based Community Development”. This means the community gets a leading seat at the table. Before we seek to bring anything into the community, we first seek to understand and utilize the assets that already exist within the community.

Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community education and self-discovery about hygiene and sanitation concepts lead to improved health.

Improved health is always the goal. This is why all our projects include hygiene and sanitation training. We utilize many different methods for this training, depending on the community/institution, program and country. Training topics include disease transmission, personal hygiene and cleanliness, proper disposal of waste and proper water storage methods.

Monitoring and Resolution

Water isn’t a pump. Water is a service. And, it must be reliable.

The known benefits of water are ONLY true if water can be counted on, over time. We love celebrating when a project is complete and a community has access to clean, safe water. However, the ongoing service of water - making water reliable - is how we know our true impact.

The Water Project continues to monitor our water projects, and we provide continued support to make sure water service continues for communities.

Past water projects and the communities they serve are just as important to us as anything else we might be doing in the future.

Project Timeline FAQ

Project Status

Funded: Money has been raised for this project and we are preparing to release those funds to the driller/implementer

Under Construction: Money had been released to our partner to begin construction

Completed: All project work is complete and final reports have been submitted

On Hold: Issues of concern are being investigated (more below)

Canceled/Re-Allocated: The project your gift was originally allocated to has been withdrawn and we have re-allocated your gift to another project. Click the link to be redirected to your new project. (read more below)

Why isn't my project under construction yet?

Our goal is to get funds into the hands of our implementing partners as quickly and as efficiently as possible. To ensure that work in the field is not interrupted, waiting for additional funds to be raised, we keep our partners on about a 3-6 month back-log of work. That ensures the workers are always drilling or repairing wells.

Of course the side-effect of that is a perceived "lag" between donation and construction. Rest assured everyone is working as fast as is responsible.

Is the expected completion date a sure thing?

NO. Well construction in the developing world is very hard work. A lot of things can and do go wrong and delays are normal. We attempt to make a best judgment estimate of when a particular project will be complete, but the circumstances surrounding actual "in the field" conditions are far from our control.

Weather, supply availability, government paperwork, and community involvement are just a few of the variables that can delay (and sometimes even speed up) a project's completion.

What does "On Hold" mean?

Our goal is to ensure your donations are well spent. That means always erring on the side of caution when it comes to your gifts.

From time to time, concerns may arise about a particular project that require further investigation before we can fund it (actually wire money overseas) or it can be completed. We will place a project "On Hold" while we determine if it is possible to proceed and be assured of the quality of the work, and that the transparency and accountability of our partners remains up to our standard. Many times, the issues can be resolved, but on occasion project funds will need to be re-allocated to another project or partner. Sometimes initial efforts fail and we will put a project on hold to assess the situation as well. We will tell you when that happens.

What does "Canceled/Re-allocated" mean?

From time to time our water projects may not go as planned. Delays can occur due to equipment failures, geology, weather, and in some cases because we are simply not satisfied that work is being performed to our high standards. When this happens, we may need to re-allocate your donation/project. While we attempt to keep the new project in the same country, this is not always possible.

We mark a project canceled so that you are aware that your funds have been re-allocated to a new site or project. The new project link will be listed accordingly.

Wells for Uganda

With your help, fresh-water wells are being placed at schools and churches
in Uganda.

Access to clean, safe
water has a profound impact on both students and the surrounding
communities. Students and community members are relieved from walking miles for water which
is dirty and diseased. They have more time in class, and health
improves dramatically as the children learn the importance of good
hygiene and sanitation in addition to having abundant clean drinking
water.

Thank you for this well. I think the number of people suffering from suchdiseases will reduce significantly.

Merisi - Farmer

Explore The Project - Click to Expand

Stories and Community Profile

Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports…

Community Details

When the Living Water Uganda team arrived in Kateete I Village, located in Kenshunga WASH Program Area (WPA), 40 families, local church and community center were desperate for safe drinking water. Families had been reduced to utilizing a large hand-dug well shared with livestock to support all of their water needs. Unsafe hygiene and sanitation practices also disabled the community, as diarrhea and severe dehydration were static and other illnesses including dysentery, typhoid and malaria had further crippled overall community health. The team was pleased to learn of the community’s access to shared communal facilities, pit latrines, pit latrines with slabs and a VIP pit latrine, as the sole use of these facilities coupled with safe drinking water and supported Hygiene Promotion, will help reduce the spread of disease in the area. There are community health workers in the community who also worked with the Living Water team to support the sole use of these facilities and the practice of good hygiene behaviors – which were further addressed by the Living Water team during Hygiene Promotion.

During the well construction, the community established a 10-person (5 men and 5 women) Water Committee who assisted the team with the project when possible and supplied any materials they had available. The Water Committee is responsible for management and maintenance of the improved water point, and is working through participation in planning and contribution of an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) fund. This group was established to take care of day to day management of O&M, to set tariffs with water users and administration of the water point. The committee will also collect 1,000 Ugandan Shillings, equivalent to $0.40 USD, monthly to help support future repair and maintenance needs. Living Water Uganda will continue to provide technical support for the Water Committee to help empower them to carry out management of the water point. Training in community mobilization and action planning was conducted, and will continue to be supported for the next two years by Nyabushozi Community Engagement Co-coordinator and was attended by 37 people (17 men and 15 women). The goal is to equip the Water Committee with the skills necessary to manage the O&M, community relationships and to continue to influence monetary monthly contributions from the community. Kiruhura District local government is currently being engaged by Living Water Uganda to provide technical back up and financial support to the sub-county to monitor operations of the Water Committees in their constituency. They will also be responsible for planning and co- financing training of Hand Pump Mechanics (HPMs), plumbers and mansion. They will work in close collaboration with the Living Water Uganda conduct periodic water quality analysis to monitor the physical, chemical and bacteriological characteristic of the water sample. This is important because fluctuation in water quality is detrimental to community financing of the water source caretaker that has been identified for this source. The water source caretaker is responsible for day-to-day management and administration of water point. Specifically, the caretaker will carry out the following roles:• Organize community for orderly use• Maintain accurate list of water users• Clean the surrounding of the facilities• Undertake minor repairs• Collect O&M fees

The Water Committee will train the water source caretaker in preventive maintenance as well as empower him to check against vandalism.

Hygiene Promotion

The Hygiene Promotion team conducted Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) baseline survey feed back meetings in this community. The meetings were attended by the Sub-County officials, community leaders and community members. During the meetings, the team communicated key baseline findings, likely challenges that will deter community members from ascending the sanitation ladder as well as the hygiene promotion strategies and approaches that will be employed by Living Water Uganda program. Altogether, 37people (18 women and 19 men) attended. As result of the meetings, there has been increased participation of the different stakeholders in Living Water hygiene promotion activities. Using community health strategy approach, community structures such as Village Health Teams (VHTs), health assistants and cluster heads were trained in UMOJA-hygiene promotion approach which integrates Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) and clustering system taking into consideration the strength of each approach to reinforce the hygiene promotion work. This community health promotion structures are being equipped with CLTS tools like community mapping, transect walk, feces calculation and health costing methods to trigger communities into taking collective actions to eliminate open defecations in their communities. Verification visits by the Hygiene Promotion team, community health promotion structures and the Sub-County staff shows significant improvement in hygiene and sanitation practices in this community.

Community Member Interview

“Our village has been constantly plagued by typhoid and other water-related diseases arising from drinking dirty water,” shared 40-year old community member and subsistence farmer, Merisi. “Thank you for this well. I think the number of people suffering from such diseases will reduce significantly.”

Project Photos

Recent Project Updates

10/20/2014: Kateete I Village Project Complete

We are very excited to report that Kateete I Village in Uganda has a new source of safe, clean water. A new well has been constructed, and the community has received training in sanitation and hygiene. Together, these resources will go a long way toward stopping the spread of disease in the area. We just posted a report from our partner in the field including information about the community, GPS coordinates, and pictures.

Country Details

Uganda

Population: 27 millionLacking clean water: 36%Below poverty line: 37%

Partner Profile

Nearly 20 years ago, LWI set out to help the church in North America be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. 600 million people in the world live on less than $2 a day. 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

In response to this need, LWI implements participatory, community-based water solutions in developing countries.